


Purple Scales

by DisneyandBroadwayDream_Create_Inspire



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Other, Reader Hates Janus, Reader and Janus Are Mortal Enemies, reader has magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26874082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyandBroadwayDream_Create_Inspire/pseuds/DisneyandBroadwayDream_Create_Inspire
Summary: Virgil is Y/N's boyfriend and they've been together for a while. So why couldn't Y/N tell the difference between the two of them?Janus may or may not be the villan. But one things for sure: he's not to be trusted.A story of adventures in co-existing with the Sides.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. Where's Virgil?

**Author's Note:**

> HI GUYS! Okay, I'm SUPER excited to share my second Sanders Sides fic with you. This one is in a less confusing place, so it's easier to read, I promise 😅. Will also be updating this one at some point, but I'm trying to focus on my first story for right now. However, have this to tide you over until then! 😘
> 
> IMPORTANT ‼️  
> Just a quick reminder:  
> Y/N: Your name  
> N/N: Nickname  
> Y/H/C: Your hair color  
> Y/P: Your pronoun(s) of choice
> 
> Appreciate your support. Kudos and comments are appreciated. 🙏

[GASP] “Roman! Hi. It’s good to see you. Have you seen Virgil? I haven’t seen him in like, FOUR days.”

“Yes! Where is little Panic! At The Everywhere? ...Actually, come to think of it my Legally (Y/H/C ex: brunette) friend, we haven’t seen much of him lately either! I guess Thomas has just been feeling really good lately.”

“Hmm.” I thought to myself, that’s kind of weird. Because I know Thomas has been really active with everything in the news lately. And goodness knows, these are not ‘good mood’ topics.

“Why don’t you try singing some emo songs he likes to bring him out here? It will attract his attention.” He said this so matter-of-factly. He was almost sickeningly sure of himself. I sighed and rolled my eyes, but laughed and pocketed the idea for later.

Roman and I looked at each other and confirmed we had the same idea .

“THOMAAAAAAS!” we both yelled. Thomas appeared in the corner of my room.

“What can I do for you guys?” he said. Just as sweet as ever. X3

“Can you help us find Virgil?” I said.

“We haven’t seen him in like a week,” we said. Roman and I were both rolled over onto our stomachs, hands folded under our chins, pleading as adorably as possible. Thomas thought for a moment.

“Have you tried singing some emo songs he likes? That might get his attention.”

“See?! I told you!”

I sighed as Roman walked over to stand next to Thomas. I reluctantly relinquished and, kind of as a joke, sang,

“Oh. Well imagine. As I’m pacing the pews of a church corridor.”

I looked around and the boys gave me a look that said, “Seriously?”

So I started to take it seriously. I sang a little bit more of I Write Sins Not Tragedies. 

“Why don’t you try signing Fallout Boy? That should work,” Roman suggested, once again, with an arrogant, (though, albeit, charming) grin.

I started to perform more and had fun. I sang little bits of “Uma Therman” and “Death Of A Bachelor” too, but still nothing. We listened to those songs together all the time, so I was curious why it-

Then I saw my shy… beautiful boyfriend huddled quietly behind Thomas and Roman. I gasped and stood up quickly.

“Virge! Virge! Virge! ‘Scuse me boys- Virgil!”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and stood on my tip-toes to get closer to him. We both sighed and I sank fully into his arms.

“Hi, honey,” I said giddily and quietly at the same time.

Virgil sighed happily. 

“Hi.”

“It’s so good to see you.”

“I missed you.”

We were both trying to make this last as long as possible. He pulled me in as I leaned into his wonderful kiss. The kind of kiss you can only give when you reunite with someone you love.

“Well isn’t that just adorable?” Patton said.

I didn’t notice when he and Logan had shown up, but they were here now.

“I love you. I wish you could hold me like this forever. I'm never letting go of you again and you're just gonna have to get used to it."

I squeezed him a little tighter, I meant what I said. Virgil grunted at the loss of air, but then laughed and said, "Whatever you need, baby."

He must've been really happy to see me. He hates using pet names in front of other people.

"Pardon my theatrics, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! I haven’t seen you in the past four days!”

“Well, Thomas wasn’t feeling very anxious or depressed recently, so I was just hanging out in my room.”

I looked into his eyes and read the tone of his voice and I knew something was up. I knew he was lying because I’d seen Thomas’ Twitter post earlier that week about how he had a really bad day of anxiety and depression.

I quickly pulled myself off of Virgil.

“That’s not true.” I backed away until I was in the middle of the boys.

“I’m not Janus, so you can stop backing away now,” Virgil laughed lightly.

“Really? Are you sure about that? Because in the last video I watched, Deceit was Patton for 27 minutes, so I’m just making sure.” I was partly being sarcastic, but mostly I was using my sarcasm as a defense mechanism.

“Y/N...”

“... Come here.” I walked slowly back towards ‘Virgil’.

He rapped his arms around me once again and kissed me gently on the lips. I pulled away and smiled at him. Virgil's hugs always made me feel better. As I pulled away, I looked up into his eyes, expecting to see the dark brown-colored, deeply enchanting light I'm so fond of. The warmth and comfort I'm used to from him. That's what I always see and feel when I look at Virgil. I can always see right through to his timid, kind soul. His eyes are like portals to me. Maybe that's my powers.

But instead I saw a pair of completely unfamiliar eyes flash at me in a bright yellow.

“OK!” I pushed 'Virgil' away from me as quickly as I could and walked away, exasperated. I stood, along with the rest of the boys, in the battle stance we usually take when someone threatens our family.

“DECEIT! WHY ARE YOU HERE AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH VIRGIL?!”

“DECEIT! WHY ARE YOU HERE AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH VIRGIL?!”


	2. Confronting A Snake 🐍

What bothered me after the shock wore off is HOW did I not notice the difference between my BOYFRIEND... and a SNAKE?!?!?! Especially when he said my name like that?! Uugh! That was so OBVIOUSLY a Khaa moment! (Jungle Book reference. Nice.)

“Okay, I’ve done this trick hundreds of times before, so I know it works. But why is it that I couldn’t tell the difference between the way you kiss and the way Virgil kisses?”

“Because darling, it’s part of the magic. Surely you would know that if you were any sort of true magical being at all.” 

"Watch it, Deceit," Logan defended me.

“Part of what makes my little ‘copycat’ ability so special is perfect imitation. I’m the same as all the rest of you, only different. So with practice, there’s very little room for error. It almost makes it… tolerable, to live with you foolish whelps.”

“He called us puppies!”

"Patton, not- where did you learn that word?”

“In a crossword puzzle, Logan!"

“Since when do you-”

“See?! The complete and UTTER chaos that transcends every time I appear! It’s just- well, it’s my favorite part of the job, really!”

“Alright, I've had just about enough of this.” Roman stepped to Deceit. “Listen you! Either you learn to respect people’s boundaries and privacy, and rise up when you have something to say like a NORMAL PERSON, or I will-!”

“Ah-ah-ah! Temper, temper Princey. We wouldn’t want anyone learning about your little secret, now would we?”

Roman stopped short. He went silent. He looked so terrified.

“What secret?” Logan asked.

Silence.

“What is he talking about, Roman?” Thomas spoke up.

Roman seemed like a meek little rabbit when he whipped his head around at the sound of Thomas’ voice. His eyes darted back and forth between everyone in the room, but still no answer.

“Roman, what is he talking about?” I said, started to get angry at the prospect of being lied to twice today.

“Kiddo?” Patton called out to Roman. He crossed the room to be between Roman and Janus and delicately placed a hand on his shoulder. It was then I noticed that we were all now in Thomas’ living room instead of my bedroom.

"I don't know why I ever thought I could trust you, Deceit." Roman moved away from Patton and stormed across the room to reach Janus. "This is what you do. This is what you always do! You gain our trust and then blackmail us with it later!"

"GUYS! SHUT UP!" The room fell silent. I'd had enough of this. "Janus, you. Stay. The rest of you: get out."

Everyone looked shocked.

"Please."

The boys dispersed. Roman kept turning around to look at Janus. Patton kept turning around to look at Roman, and Logan and Thomas went upstairs. 

"Roman, I'll come find you later. Nobody leave town," I said. Then everyone was gone.

"You needn't be so dramatic N/N, it looks tacky."

"Look who's talking. DON'T call me that. I'm going to kill you-"

"Woah, Y/N, turn it down! Remember, Thomas' PG rating."

"Are you kidding me?" I pointed behind the couch and Remus popped up, holding a rat.🐀

"Hello!" His voice is so shrill,I swear it could knock birds outs of the sky.

"Remus, don't eat the rat! We've talked about this!" Janus scolded. He walked over to where Remus was to try and take the rat from him. But as soon as he made contact with the creature, Remus bit him. 

"Gah! What the hell is the matter with you?!"

I would tell you what Remus' response to that was, but I'd rather keep my PG rating intact.

Janus chased him out of the room.

"Sorry about him," he sighed. "Now that everyone knows he exists, he's somehow gotten worse." Janus walked over to the sink to wash the rat smell off his gloves. 

"Stop changing the subject you slithering, slimy little snake. What have you done with my boyfriend?!" I kept raising my voice. I knew the boys were probably eavesdropping somewhere, but it's not like they weren't going to find out what happened eventually, so I didn't care.

"Oh would you re-lax! Virgil's fine! He's just asleep, that's all."

I softened my look of anger towards him.

"N/N, I swear, you have no sense of humor! You know snakes like to strangle their victims a bit before the final strike."

I was trying to take in what he said. I knew Janus was smart, so I was trying to figure out he would let me know he was planning something.

"Thinking someone you love is being held prisoner is no laughing matter, Deceit!" I was getting angry again.

"Okay, I know you don't like me very much, but the least you could do is call me by my given name. I was nice enough to share it with you all rather quickly! Don't you think? I haven't even lied to you once yet today." He smiled in that way…. he does. Like a spider yo-yoing its food on its web.

"Yeah, keyword: yet. And there's a whole list of names in my head that I could call you-"

"Oh my God, N/N, you're almost worse than Roman. Look-". He finished drying his gloves and put them back on. "I could take you to see Virgil right now to prove that he's okay. But that would require you to trust me to lead you to his room."

I noticed the way he phrased that never gave me any power. He didn't ask me if I wanted to see Virgil, he said he could take me to him. I knew he was telling the truth about Virgil, though. He rarely takes off his gloves. He was being controlling. And manipulative. He was good at it. But I wasn't going to fall for it.

"I know where his room is, thank you. I'll go check on him myself."

"Fine." Janus smiled a sincere smile at me. Coming from someone who's evil, that's always the most concerning kind.

I got off the couch and turned to go into the mindscape. "Oh," I stopped and said calmly. "If when I get back, I find out that you've done anything to my boys… I mean… anything?" I put on the most threatening, low-toned I could. "... I will hunt you down like a rabid dog… and I will hurt you in ways you couldn't dream up if you tried."

Janus' face changed from cocky to observant. I knew I had gotten to him. Janus and I had been enemies for a long time. We've grown to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. We can read each other like a deck of cards. We know each other's… everything. We're both powerful. It's never a good thing to have an enemy with whom you're evenly matched.

I broke eye contact with him and went into the mindscape.


	3. Gays In The Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a fun little chapter I decided to throw in. 😊

(POV: 3rd person omnipotent. Knows everything)  
After dispersing from the living room after Y/N had shooed them all away, the boys secretly crowded in the closet by the front door. 

'The irony of us being in here-" someone began.

"Not now, Roman," Logan said. 

"Does anyone have a light?" Patton asked somewhat too loudly. Dad voice, he couldn't help it.

"Shhhh!" everyone chorused. 

"Oops! Sorry," Patton giggled. He said again, quieter, "Does anyone have a light?" He was whisper-yelling, so this time was only a slight improvement.

"Ooh! Wait-" Roman whispered. He snapped his fingers and a string of soft white fairy lights appeared on the walls of the closet. "There we are. Much better."

"Good thinking, Roman. Now everyone stay quiet or we won't be able to hear anything." Logan is a pro; he always takes charge.

"Guys, maybe we shouldn't be doing this. I mean, we love Y/N! Y/P asked us to leave for a reason, right? We trust Y/P. I'm sure Y/P tell us later if Y/P want(s) to."

"Shhhhhh!" they all said again.

"Okay, well-"

"Guys listen! It's getting good," Logan said.

"What are they saying, Lo?" Roman asked.

"I can- I can almost make it out. They're clearly fighting. But I can't tell if it's about anything specific, or because they just generally hate each other."

"Probably both," Roman said.

"True," responded Logan.

Then Patton chimed in again. "Hey, where'd Thomas go?"

"Oh, he stayed upstairs. I was helping him with the script, but I knew you two would eavesdrop. We both knew, without me, you would likely get caught, so I came down to help you."

"Hey!" Roman said. "I resent that remark!"

"He's right you know, kiddo."

"... Yeah, okay."

Suddenly, they heard from outside the door, "Thinking someone you love is being held captive is no laughing matter, Deceit!"

"Oooh," a simultaneous reaction from the boys in the closet. 

"Burn," Roman said.

"Oh no she didn't," Patton added.

"I've told you two how ridiculous you sound when you smack talk. It's painful to watch, truthfully."

Just then, Remus scampered under the door and around to the back of the closet. Don't ask me how he stretched so he could FIT under the door, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to.

They all scattered and turned around to face the green goblin.

"Remus! What are you doing?!" Logan asked, shocked.

"Get out of here, we're busy!"

"Hey kiddo! What's going on?" Patton always had to be the dad, didn't he? Sure Pat. Engage with the crazy kids. (Us with our Logan XD.)

"Hey guys! Jan made me lose my rat. Have you guys seen him?" Remus moved his hands to show the height of the rat 🐀. "About yay high, red eyes, gray and furry? I chased him in here, he ran under the door."

"You mean to tell me there is a RAT IN HERE WITH US! EWW!" Roman squirmed around and bumped against the door. 

Logan was still hell-bent on hearing Y/N and Janus' argument. "SHHH!" he said once more, exasperated.

"Roman, calm down! It's okay," said Patton. "I've got the little guy right here!" 

Roman turned around and saw Patton stroking the rat.

"GAAH!" Roman cried. He fell backwards onto Remus. 

"Get off me you royal pain!" Remus cackled.

"Hey!" Roman shouted.

Roman landed on Logan, crushing him against the door. Logan gasped, he got the wind knocked out of him. Patton tried to help them regain their balance and Remus was trying to stifle a laugh. Right as the chaos reached its peak, the closet door opened and everyone inside it yelled as they fell into a heap on the floor. Remus was no where near the others, and still sitting on the floor, but decided to collapse dramatically anyway. Groaning in pain and trying to untangle themselves, the both looked up to see that Janus had opened the door.

"You can all come out of the closet now," he said. The sight of everyone being embarrassed and in pain at the same time amused him so, especially when he was the one who'd caused it.

"No, that's okay. I think we'll just stay in here," Roman said, trying to salvage some dignity.

"Oh, come on! It worked so well for you all the first time!" 

Everyone slowly stood up and brushed themselves off. Once everyone was recuperated, Patton said, "I'm sorry we were listening to your conversation, Janus. We won't do it again." He had on his cute puppy look. You know, the one puppies use when they know they're in trouble?

"Oh, don't apologise Patton! I would've done the same thing!" Janus sounded like he was hosting a tea party or something. So giddy, he was almost… proud of them all.

"I'm going to remind Thomas we need to go grocery shopping," Janus said and headed upstairs. "Tell me when Y/N gets done whining!" 

"Well… that was interesting…. I'm going to get some bandages, do you guys need any?"

"No thanks, Roman!" Patton perked up.

"No thank you. I'm fine." Logan sounded puzzled.

"Logan, what is it-"

Before Roman could finish the question, Remus darted in between them again, still chasing after the rat 🐀. Roman squirmed and Patton yelled after him, "REMUS, TAKE THE RAT OUTSIDE!"

Logan and Roman looked at him weirdly.

"What? Sometimes, you have to be the parent," Patton explained, quite content with himself.

"Why the look, Logan?" Roman and Patton were concerned now too.

"It's odd… and rather troublesome." He hesitated for a moment. He exchanged puzzled and confused looks with the others. "Janus had a surprising amount of spring in his step for someone who's just been threatened."


	4. Two Truths, One Mystery

I walked around in what is technically Thomas' brain until I got to Virgil's corner of the mindscape. Same cobwebs and posters, same cool lighting. Even that crazy clock was still there. I don't know where he got that thing, but it looks like something Roman fished out of the rabbit hole that leads to Wonderland. I started walking upstairs to Virgil's room, but then I stopped and turned around halfway up. I had no idea what I was going to say to Virgil. I could start with the truth! The truth was- the truth was that Janus had tricked me and I didn't notice. I felt terrible. What kind of (partner/gf/bf, etc) am I if I can't tell the difference between someone I love and someone who's not him!?!? I know that Janus said that was part of his magic, but shouldn't my magic have been enough to see past that?  
That was a question for later. Right now I had to figure out what, EXACTLY, to tell Virgil. "Hey honey! Janus knocked you out and pretended to be you!" Okay, so that's a definite no. "I don't suppose you remember being replaced by a snake earlier today, do you?" And that was even worse.  
I sighed and said to myself, "And whichever you pick, do it quick-". Then, as if to read my mind, and stranger still, complete my thought, an image appeared in front of me. Above my head, a clip from Into The Woods played, "-cause you're starting to stick to the steps of the palace!"  
Okay, this makes… literally no sense. It seems like Roman has been doing a little redecorating in here lately. Rather than waste time questioning the magical musical interlude, I walked the rest of the way up stairs.  
Whatever you say, be honest with him. The best way to defeat a liar is with honesty. Virgil loves you, and you love him! That should make this a bit easier.  
I slowly opened the door to Virgil's room, so as not to wake him. I was happy to see that for once in his life, Janus had told me the truth. Virgil was lying on his bed, sort of half-curled into a ball, but with no blanket on. I assumed he was in that position because he was cold. I walked over to him as quietly as I could and decided to throw his blanket over him. I unfolded his favorite blanket from the foot of his bed and carefully draped it over him. Trying my best not to wake my beautiful sleeping angel, I whispered, "Goodnight honey," and turned to leave.  
"As long as you're here, you might as well come lay with me," Virgil smirked.  
I jumped a little and turned to face him.  
"Oh my gosh, you scared me. I'm so sorry, honey. I didn't mean to wake you."  
Damnit. I thought I might get lucky and not have to do this right now.  
"I've been awake since you opened the door. I'm a light sleeper," he laughed. He sat up in his bed and locked eyes with me. I smiled at him, relieved he was really okay.  
"Wait… how the hell did I get up here? I wasn't taking a nap!" Virgil started panicking. He flipped the blanket off and started towards me.  
"Nononono, hey hey, hey, hey, Virgil. Get back in bed, baby. It's alright, I'll explain everything, just please lay back down, you need rest."  
His eyes were still darting around and he grabbed my arms to steady himself. He let me help him back into bed and I went through a breathing exercise with him. Once Virgil's heart rate was back down to normal, he spoke. "I'm okay, I'm okay! Seriously, don't fuss over me, I'm fine! Would you just- would you please tell me what happened?"  
I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Are you sure you wanna hear it?"  
"Y/N, yes! I don't know how the hell I got moved! I'm going to-"  
"Okay, okay. I'll tell you everything." I paused, still not quite sure how to proceed. "It was Janus. Janus brought you up here."  
"Janus? What, why? When did I fall asleep? And why the hell did he carry me up here? He KNOWS I hate it when people move me when I'm asleep! He knows I hate HIM!"  
I grabbed his hands, trying to keep him calm.  
"You DIDN'T fall asleep, Virgil!" I cut him off because I knew all of this already, and I shared the sentiment. "He drugged you. Or-something, I'm not exactly sure what he did, but he knocked you out so he could take your place. He tricked us and we all thought he had hurt you. I didn't believe him when he said he'd left you up here, but I guess, for once, he was telling the truth."  
"..... Why would he take my place? What could he possibly stand to gain from that? I'm like... the least important one there."  
"No, Virgil. You're not. We all need you just as much as we need Logan or Patton or anyone else. You know that."  
"Yeah okay, right. Sorry and- thank you. But seriously, why? What's he planning? Did he let anything slip?"  
"Nothing particularly incriminating, but he does seem very uncharacteristic today. He's hiding something, I know that for sure. But I have no idea what… I wonder if- no, how would he control that?"  
I let go of Virgil's hands. I was more thinking out loud now than actually talking.  
"Control what, what's the matter?"  
"Well again, it's- it's not like anything is specifically wrong, just- out of the ordinary."  
"Well, I would call drugging me and dragging me somewhere where no one knew where I was pretty wrong!"  
"I know that part, I mean that-" I stopped. I had to stare at Virgil's wall.  
"Virgil? Have you always had a night light in your room?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Has it always been one with red stars all over it?"  
"What?"  
I pointed to the socket I was staring at and Virgil flipped the covers off again to turn on the lamp and unplug the night light. We both looked at it closely.  
"How did this get here? Janus wouldn't be considerate enough to leave me a night light. Plus, there was nothing wrong with my old one!"  
"This. This kind of stuff: everywhere! This is what I'm talking about!" I looked into his eyes.  
"This looks like a lamp Roman would have."  
"Roman put it here? That's impossible, I would've heard him come in."  
"Exactly… Out in the hallway, I made an Into The Woods reference on the stairs, and this holographic screen popped up and played the rest of the clip that I was singing."  
I looked back at Virgil, my eyes were wide, I was fully engaged in this mystery.  
"That clock in your living room… The one with the crazy hands, where did you get it?"  
"Joan and Talyn edited it in there for that one episode where-"  
"Assuming for the moment that we're not breaking the fourth wall-! Where did you get it from?"  
"When we were younger, Roman gave me a copy of Alice In Wonderland for Christmas. It was always one of my favorite stories, and he knew that! So he told me that along with the book, he would conjure any one thing from it that I wanted and I could have it for my room. I kind of liked the idea of having an attack-Jabberwocky for emergencies, but Thomas said no, so I asked Roman for the clock from the rabbit hole."  
"I knew it. I knew it was that clock. And Roman-"  
I snapped my fingers.  
"Roman gave it to you."  
"So?"  
"So everything that's been happening since I got to your room today has been Romanized and I couldn't figure out why! I thought maybe it was just a coincidence, but considering-"  
I grunted angrily.  
"NONE OF THIS makes SENSE!"  
"I'm sure we can figure it out… together, okay?"  
Virgil lifted my chin and made me look in his eyes.  
"Hey? Okay?"  
I nodded.  
"Thank you for telling me. You did the right thing."  
He smiled at me and I jumped on him. I wrapped my arms around Virgil so tightly, he had to ask me for air.  
"Sorry," I giggled. "I just missed you. Janus made me so angry earlier when he tricked me. I mean, the others could have fallen for it, sure! But me?! I'm your (partner/gf/bf/etc.), I should've been able to tell-"  
I stopped short and looked back up at my loving boyfriend. I really didn't know how he was gonna react to this part. Maybe if I had spoken more carefully, I could've avoided it altogether, but I'd talked myself into a corner. I had to tell him now.  
"Virgil, he kissed me."  
His face fell.  
"Janus kissed me. He lured me in, and I kissed him back. But ONLY because I thought he was you! He's so good at what he does, Virgil! I know my magic should've been enough to see through his act, but it wasn't! And I didn't, and I- I don't know-"  
I was breaking down, I started crying. I was so angry and hurt that he would trick me like that. I was so angry that I didn't know why he'd tricked me, made me do and say those things that I'd only ever said to Virgil. That was just for us.  
"-what happened, Virgil! He just- he just lied to me, and to everybody, like he always does, and I hate that! I hate him!"  
I was full-on sobbing at this point. Virgil had grabbed my arms to try and steady my emotional state a little bit. I was shaking with anger, I could feel it all over my body.  
"I didn't mean it, Virgil. I didn't mean any of what I said to him, I didn't mean to kiss him, I would never want to kiss him, I thought he was you! I only ever meant to say those things to YOU, Virgil! I'm sorry!"  
Virgil pulled me into his chest. I flung my arms around him and sobbed as hard as I could into his chest, I felt so stupid. I probably looked so stupid, too.  
"I'm sorry-"  
"Hey, hey hey hey shhhh. It's okay. It's okay, baby. I'm right here. It's really me now (pet name), I've got you."  
He stroked my back as he spoke. I was still shaking, but my sobbing was the current cause.  
"It's not your fault. I'm not mad at you, baby, it's okay. It's not your fault. He's good at this. He's fooled all of us too, more than once. I don't blame you for anything."  
He pulled back a little bit to look at me. I returned the favor.  
"Okay?"  
I only nodded in response. Virgil wiped the tears from underneath my eyes, one arm still wrapped firmly around my body… to keep me safe… just the way he knew I liked. I guess that's when it really, fully sunk in. This was my Virgil. I was safe here. It felt so good to be next to him again. For sure, this time. I sniffed and laughed a little.  
"I got snot on your shirt," I said as I tried to clean it a little with my sleeve.  
"That's okay, it's not a lot. I can have it dry cleaned." He smiled at me, in that way only the real Virgil, my Virgil, can. I laughed again, more fully this time.  
"Are you okay?"  
I replaced us back into the hug and nodded into his chest.  
"Can we just stay like this for a while?"  
"Sure, Y/N. As long as you like."  
"Good. Because I mean it this time: I'm never letting go of you again." "Well, you're gonna have to let go of me sometime. I need to eat. And sleep. And breathe! And, sorry N/N but honestly, that sounds terrible. I hate constant attention, you know that, it's just-" He shook his head. "It's too much." I couldn't help but laugh. "That's more like it." I sat back up, suddenly. I pulled away from Virgil, but we were still holding each other's arms. I looked into his eyes with the urgency of someone trying to solve a Sherlock Holmes mystery.  
"Y/N, is here anything else I should know about what happened when I was asleep?"  
"No," I shook my head. "Nothing else happened."  
"Then why do you look like that?"  
We both stared at each other, a great deal of concern on our faces.  
"Because I think there might be something seriously wrong with Roman."


End file.
